Chapter Ninety-Six [Return to Wildfire Town]

At last, a rare warm day had come in winter. Hooves trampled the dry, hard earth, and the warmth of the sun left everyone pleasantly drowsy. Even the surface of their armor held a faint lingering heat. The cavalry rode along, savoring this uncommon ease.

It almost seemed as if the atmosphere of war, that brutal slaughter in which life and death had so recently hung by a thread, had already receded far from them.

Xia rode at the very rear of the column, following along with a touch of reluctance. Cato was beside him, riding abreast. Somehow, like a magician pulling a trick from nowhere, the smuggler produced a bottle of ale, a small one at that, and the dozen-odd cavalrymen took turns drinking from it. The liquor went down warm, and with the gentle sunlight on them, every man felt heat from the inside out.

By the time the bottle reached Xia, there was only a last little swallow left. He hesitated, then smiled and handed it to Cato. Cato did not refuse. He tipped back his neck, gulped it down in one go, wiped his mouth, and nodded toward the front of the column with a look. "So you really mean to ignore that fellow all the way there?"

Xia rolled his eyes, then shook his head. "Forget it. The general said to be a little polite to him. As long as he doesn't come looking for trouble, I'm not going to bother with him."

At the head of the column was a carriage. It was by no means a luxurious one; after all, they had only just passed through a war, and the camp had managed to find nothing more than a grain wagon, which had been hastily modified into Bonfret's ride. Yet this gentleman, who had always loved his comforts, had surprisingly accepted it without a word. He had jumped into the carriage as though fleeing for his life, eager to set out at once, as if he could not bear to remain in the Thirteenth Legion's camp for even one more second.

The nobleman had once again donned fine clothes and that magnificent but fragile armor, as thin as paper. Even the attendants he had brought from the imperial capital had lifted their chins proudly once more, strutting along the road as though the world belonged to them. Since boarding the carriage, Sir Bonfret had not once climbed down, not even when they stopped to rest along the way.

Xia and Cato guessed that perhaps this ass-kissing fellow had to have someone carry a chamber pot into the carriage before he would even relieve himself.

On this journey, Schalba was not with them, his wounds still not healed. That brave fellow had been hurt once more in the final battle, riding out from the city with Xia's two hundred cavalry. The army physician said he would not be able to ride for at least a month... Poor Schalba had fallen from his horse in the chaos of battle, and an Odin ax had sliced his backside...

Fifty personal guards and ten attendants made up a hundred-man mounted escort, and they spent the day slowly accompanying Bonfret and his retinue. By evening they arrived at Wildfire Town, where they would rest for the night before moving on.

The bumpkin who had returned to Wildfire Town felt a measure of emotion. The last time he had left, he had been surrounded by dozens of imperial soldiers. In his flight, he had even smashed a great hole through the city gate.

On this return, the hole in the gate had clearly already been repaired. In the aftermath of the war, though Hastings had not truly attacked Wildfire Town, the garrison inside had still been thrown into considerable panic and had reinforced the gate. By the time Xia arrived, he saw a large pile of timber stacked before it.

The imperial soldiers guarding the gate were clearly much more lax than before. Once the war was over, the Byzantines were eager to make plans for home, and the patrol soldiers in town were equally listless and unwilling to exert themselves.

The streets were still quiet. Most of the shops had not opened, but the taverns were once again doing good business. A few mercenaries and adventurers, dressed in all manner of styles, had also begun to appear. It was said that when Wildfire Town had come under threat, these men had once taken the initiative to help defend the walls. Though no real battle had ultimately come, that gesture of goodwill had won the trust of the garrison.

All in all, Wildfire Town was recovering. In a few more days, once the Byzantines withdrew, it would probably return to its old lawless freedom.

The largest building in town was the mayor's manor, though in truth it was little more than a somewhat larger courtyard with two rows of buildings and a pair of watchtowers standing before the gate, each two stories high. It was now temporarily occupied by the Byzantine army and serving as the garrison headquarters.

Bonfret and his party went straight into the garrison headquarters, but Xia had no intention of staying there. The garrison commander here was no acquaintance of his; not only were they not familiar, they probably had some bad blood between them. Back when Adrick had first encountered Xia, he had lashed this commander several times with his whip. That bald-headed man then...

Xia sighed and ordered himself to stop thinking about it.

He sent someone to register his name at the garrison headquarters, then led his brothers straight to the tavern run by Sofia's husband.

Meanwhile, Dodo led a group of attendants off in great secrecy. The mage's intentions were no secret; he had taken the brothers he had just met and gone to settle scores. The thugs who had bullied him before, the bastards who had robbed him, all of them were going to pay for daring to offend the noble Lord Dodo...

As soon as Xia entered the tavern and saw One-Eye standing behind the counter, still polishing glasses with a filthy rag, a smile rose involuntarily to his face, and he went forward first to greet him.

One-Eye saw Xia in the soft armor of a Byzantine cavalry officer and was first somewhat puzzled, but then his face broke into a grin. Showing his yellow teeth as always, he bellowed, "Hey! Look who's here! Isn't this our little bumpkin? And now you're an officer of Byzantium!"

Xia sat down at the bar, slapped the table, and laughed loudly. "One-Eye, you old dog, don't think you can get away with flattering me. I left a fine bottle of wine with you last time. You haven't been sneaking sips of it, have you?"

With that, he banged the table hard and said, "Brothers, find yourselves a place to sit. This tavern has the best ale in Wildfire Town. Old One-Eye, bring ten barrels first. I'll pay! Ah, and everyone here today, I buy each of you a drink!"

That last line drew laughter from the patrons. These people were all natives of Wildfire Town, and Xia knew many of them.

He patted his pockets. The gold left behind by Qi and the poor wretch was still in abundance. He might have been a bumpkin, but once he had money, he was generous enough. He had dreamed of scenes like this more times than he could count. To strut a little for once today filled him with a secret delight.

The cavalrymen were all delighted. In any case, this was no battle, and the task of the journey had been simple enough. Their captain was treating them to drink; how could they possibly refuse?

In less than a moment, the tavern was in uproar. Several large wooden casks were brought out, and the cavalrymen snatched up their cups and drank heartily. The tavern had already held quite a few patrons, and Xia greeted them one by one. Among the familiar faces, he also saw several strangers, probably adventurers who had only recently arrived.

As he chatted idly, he suddenly heard the conversation at one of the tables among a few adventurers, and it drew Xia's attention.

"This world is damned strange these days! We've seen Odin men in Wildfire Town, seen Byzantines, seen Lantis folk, seen people from the Free Territory, and just a few days ago even dwarves showed up. But now, who would have thought goblins would be forming a merchant caravan and coming here to do business..."

"That's right. What in the world can those things even sell? Dried human meat? Hahaha..."

Xia immediately paid attention. He leaned over, set his cup on their table, and lifting his backside, squeezed into a seat. Smiling, he asked, "What interesting thing are you talking about? Could it be that goblins have come to Wildfire Town?"

Yet inwardly he was puzzled. Within a hundred miles of here, the only goblin he knew of was the one at home, Oaks. Could that princess consort have neglected the house and come to Wildfire Town to make trouble instead?

The two adventurers were both dressed in leather armor and armed, looking rough and formidable. They glanced at Xia, and seeing that he was dressed like an officer, they smiled politely. One of them said loudly, "That's right! Two days ago word came that Hastings had withdrawn, and the town opened its gates. Guess what happened next? The very first caravan to arrive was made up of goblins! Strange, isn't it? More than a dozen humans with seven or eight wagons, all packed to the brim and tightly covered. No one knew what was inside."

"And following them were more than ten goblins. Those green-skinned fellows were chattering away like mad, all dressed in rags and scrap metal, with knives in their hands so rusted you could hardly tell where blade ended and corrosion began. Who knows if they were dug up from some grave."

More than a dozen goblins?

Then it was not Oaks.

Xia lost interest. He did not care about such matters. But the other adventurer went on, "And there's something even stranger. Those goblins came into town, and that very day they got into a fight with several mercenaries. At first, everyone thought those goblins were scrawny and were just waiting to laugh at them. Who would have thought the goblin leader was really that damned fierce? He took down a middle-rank warrior with just a few axes and had him on the ground in no time! I've never seen the like in my life. Hell, not only have I never seen such a formidable goblin, I've never even heard of one."

Xia was intrigued. Could goblins really be that powerful?

"Mm, and the funniest part is, I hear that goblin chief has a pretty bad temper. After he came in, he was asking everyone he saw whether they had seen a very beautiful goblin. He also said, he said..." The fellow struggled to suppress a burst of laughter, then finally burst out, "He said his wife had gone missing and he had come out to look for her. Tell me that isn't hilarious! Hahahahahaha..."